Obama: Divine or just fabulous? Tom Smith

Videos from the McCain campaign here.  You can vote.

The only other time I can remember feeling this way was during the '70's and the disco craze.  Everybody really was crazy about disco dancing, the music, the scene etc.  I didn't get it.  I hated the music, I thought the dancing was stupid and I couldn't do it anyway (terrible dancer me), and I didn't like the clothes either.  It was like, is everybody crazy or is it just me? 

Same with Obama.  I don't get the appeal.  I can see that he is good looking, bright for a politician, I understand the historic black President thing, but overall it just seems so obvious that he is just the guy who started plotting in junior high how he was going to be the Governor of Boys' State, or whatever.  Only now it's on a global scale.  It's very weird.  I had thought media and celebrity driven politics had bottomed out, but apparently not.

Comments

[dearieme]

In my (British) student days I met three young men who clearly had Huge Political Ambition. Two became Foreign Secretary and the third became Chancellor of the Exchequer and, now, PM. One was, broadly, a decent chap (Malcolm Rifkind, now Sir Malcolm), one an utter shit (Robin Cook) and the third bounced a cheque on me.

[Tillman Fan]

I had the same "I just don't get it" thoughts in 2001-02 with respect to Bush. I was still a Republican then (the decision to go to war in Iraq and the contempt for anyone who was against that war hadn't yet driven me off the reservation). I would read writers in the National Review Online going on about how "authentic" Bush was, and what a great leader he was, and for the life of me I couldn't understand how people who I regarded as smart (and who I generally agreed with) could feel so different from the way I did. I didn't dislike Bush at the time (I do now), but I just didn't see that he was doing or had done anything that merited the accolades that he was receiving.

With respect to Obama, I think that the reaction to him is largely driven by the fact that he's likely to be the first Black President, which is a big deal. People are excited about being a part of that, and that affects their perception of him.

[vanessa]

for me the appeal is his brain. The guy is smart. His self-regard is beginning to grate on my nerves, and I'm not gaga over him the way so many are, but honestly, after seven years of Bush, I'm really ready for a smart president. And I think he's pragmatic, not an ideologue. He's probably gonna disappoint a lot of liberals if he gets into office, because I think he's going to be thinking about what works, not what's popular.

McCain's an ideologue. I don't trust ideologues, I don't care what their party platform is. Again, after seven years of Bush, I'm even more of this opinion than ever.

And also, McCain just ain't that bright or knowledgeable. He confuses strong opinion with judgment, self-righteousness with honor, length of public service with ability.

And I do worry about his age. It's not age in general -- it's his. I think his mind is aging. It's become inflexible. And he's running a terrible terrible campaign, flying by the seat of his pants. THere is no excuse for it after months to get his act together while the world was watching the dem primary. That does not bode well for this country.

[Jonathan]

For a man who is reputed to be smart, Obama sure says a lot of dumb things. He has quite a left-wing voting record and a remarkable number of far-left personal acquaintances for someone who is reputed to be politically pragmatic. And for a guy who is widely thought of as young, hip and intellectually agile he is remarkably ignorant and doctrinaire about economics and history.

But hey, these are mere quibbles. Let's close our eyes and vote for him because he's glib and black and makes people feel good. Did I mention that he's like JFK?